investor-state disputes | ISDS

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) refers to a way of handling conflicts under international investment agreements whereby companies from one party are allowed to sue the government of another party. This means they can file a complaint and seek compensation for damages. Many BITs and investment chapters of FTAs allow for this if the investor’s expectation of a profit has been negatively affected by some action that the host government took, such as changing a policy. The dispute is normally handled not in a public court but through a private abritration panel. The usual venues where these proceedings take place are the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank), the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law or the International Court of Justice.

ISDS is a hot topic right now because it is being challenged very strongly by concerned citizens in the context of the EU-US TTIP negotiations, the TransPacific Partnership talks and the CETA deal between Canada and the EU.

South Centre | 26-Aug-2015
The brief reviews Ecuador’s experience with investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The paper explains the historical and geopolitical context of the decisions Ecuador has taken in regard to bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and ISDS.
Medium | 26-Aug-2015
A number of chapters of the TPP will affect the creative artists, cultural industries and internet freedom — including intellectual property, investment, and electronic commerce.
Jeune Afrique | 24-Aug-2015
Pursuant to the ruling of an Irish court, Airbus A320 of Congo Airways, RDC’s new national airline company, is blocked at Dublin airport. The Congolese authorities are not excluding the hypothesis of “vulture fund subterfuge”.
Jeune Afrique | 24-Aug-2015
La juridiction irlandaise a été saisie le 19 août par la société américaine Miminco LLC et par deux Américains. En cause : une créance d’État impayée de 10 millions d’euros à la suite d’une procédure arbitrale devant le CIRDI.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle | 23-Aug-2015
TPP would stand above U.S. laws. That means a corporation could sue New York state if we pass a law they do not like.
El Diario | 20-Aug-2015
Grandes bufetes de abogados presionan para la inclusión del ISDS en el TTIP por los suculentos beneficios que reportan los pleitos arbitrados.
CBC | 20-Aug-2015
Canada is appealing a potentially expensive decision from a NAFTA tribunal, arguing the tribunal "exceeded its jurisdiction" when it upheld a claim from a New Jersey concrete company, Bilcon, that it was entitled to compensatory damages.
The Online Citizen | 20-Aug-2015
What TPP means for Singapore, politics and you.
TUC | 20-Aug-2015
TUC Congress believes that the primary purpose of TTIP is to extend corporate investor rights’ and thus adopted a position of ‘outright opposition’ to TTIP.